Published: January 10, 2009 08:38 pm      

Welcome

Do your doors make a good first impression?

Your front door serves far more than a functional purpose. It gives visitors their first impression of your home, a Beckley interior designer said.

“Research I’ve collected shows that your front door reflects what you think about your house. A door can sell property,” said Jeannie Richmond, president of Interior Concepts. “It takes just eight seconds to decide whether or not you will buy a house, and four of those seconds will be spent waiting at the front door, according to one study I read.”

Safety and aesthetics come into play when it comes time to buy a new front door, she said.

“Obviously, you want a door that’s secure and that’s fitted properly so that it insulates your home against heat and cold. However, you also want to make sure it’s appropriate for the style of your house.”

Those beautiful doors with the oval designs, for example, work best on Victorian homes.

“That’s a Victorian-era style of door, so it isn’t appropriate for a home that’s done in a really contemporary design,” Richmond said.

A six-panel door goes well with a colonial design. Four-paneled doors, often with the top two made of glass are among the more popular designs.

Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian styles can be used on new houses. However, making these classical styles fit the home calls for some professional advice.

“You can’t just base the decision on how well you like the door,” Richmond said. “You have to consider how it makes the whole front of your home look. Everything from the walkway up to the porch and to the door itself should fit together in terms of style and design in order to look inviting and have good curb appeal.”

Some neighborhood associations may require all the doors to look much the same. In some cases a homeowner may need permission from the association to change the front door design.

“Regardless of where you live, you want to take your whole street into consideration so that your home will blend in appropriately,” Richmond said. “Every street or neighborhood has a personality and color and style things going on, so you want to think about that when you’re making changes to the front of your home.”

Door color should also be appropriate for the area in which the home is located, she said.

“Flamingo pink might look perfectly fine on a beach house in Florida, but our colors here are more earthy. Rocks, soil and our environment calls for colors that complement them,” Richmond said.

Doors can be dressed up with what designers call “jewelry.” The knobs, knockers, letterboxes and hinges can all be chosen to reflect an overall design composition.

Simple brass ring knockers work well with paneled or plank doors. Octagonal or round door knobs and handles and plain letterboxes work well with a simpler design. Traditional-style door furniture or jewelry coated in brushed and polished chrome and nickel creates a more contemporary look and works will with flatter, lighter colors, Richmond said.

“Again, you want to keep the door jewelry consistent with what is appropriate with that type of door as well as choosing a door that’s appropriate for the home so that you have a sense of unity in the overall design,” she said.

What’s on the other side of the door is also important.

“When someone enters your home, there should be no clutter in the entry way,” Richmond said. “Open space is much more inviting. You can add a nice rug to add some color and texture, and a console table with a lamp and a mirror above it creates a warm, inviting atmosphere. Mirrors also make a space appear larger and more open.”

— E-mail: bdavis@register-herald.com